Whether you want to improve your marketing or make the most of content you have already created, updating past blog posts or web pages can be a great way to do both. Taking the time to update old blogs can improve your SEO ratings and help you continue to gain leads from top-performing blogs. Not only will updating your content help your overall Google appearance, but your customers will also thank you for providing relevant information.
Choose Top Performing Blogs To Update
Before you start updating just any old blog post, use your analytic tools to see which blogs are performing well and getting you the most traffic. Updating old blogs that have seen a lot of traffic will be the most effective use of your time because your clients already relate to this content.
A good rule of thumb is to look for blogs with the most traffic and the most inbound links. Since links show authority, you will want to update these blogs to gain more trust with searchers. Shares also help improve Google rankings, so it is beneficial to update blogs with a high number of social shares.
What Should You Focus On When Updating Old Blogs
There are multiple elements of a blog, so it can be overwhelming to know where to begin when you start updating old blogs. Below are some tips on how to make the most out of your content and reap the benefits of organic search for longer.
Make Your Content More Relevant
The biggest reason to improve your old blog content is to make the topic more relevant. While the blog itself may still be on topic or relevant to your audience without updates, some information or statistics may be out of date.
Some relevant topics can also become buried deep in your blog list. Updating the content and relisting it at the top of the blog list will help your customers easily find the popular blog. For example, if your customers are asking a question that you have written a previous blog post for, edit the content, lengthen the blog, and push that information to the top. Google will also crawl this page again and can push it to the top of search engine results pages.
Add More Keyword-Rich Headlines
Having keywords in your blog is important for SEO, but including them in the headline can help you have featured snippets at the top of search results. Keyword-rich headlines can be added to your blog easily when you lengthen the content.
Headings help your readers easily digest your content. Adding headings can differentiate between different topics and make it easier to flow through your blog. Use heading 2 and 3 styles throughout the post.
Lengthen The Content
Google prioritizes blogs that are over 700 words, but 1000 to 2000 words do even better. Adding new and relevant words to your blog can help more people relate to the blog post, which will move it to the top of results when people search for your keyword. If new information has come to light about your topic, include this in your process of updating old blogs to expand the reach of your blog.
Keep The URL The Same
Duplicate content is a major red flag according to Google, so adding an additional blog to your site with a different URL and similar content will get you dinged by Google’s web crawlers. Keep the URL the same and update the content of the blog to avoid broken links and bad Google rankings.
Better Optimize The Meta Description
Is your meta description still accurate? Could it be more eye-catching? While a meta description doesn’t get you any points on the organic search roster, it can help improve your click-through rate. When you have a catchy and informative meta-description, searchers will be able to quickly tell what the blog is about and draw their attention in quickly.
How Republishing Blogs Can Help Your SEO Ranking
When you update old blogs you will be able to increase the amount of organic traffic you see to your website. Blogging is a great way to build trust with your audience and show that you are a company that knows what they are doing. Publishing blogs that have quality content and information will help customers trust you.
At any given moment, someone can stumble on your blog post when they ask a question to Google. Even if the blog was published years ago, a good blog will continue to produce leads over time. Many readers may not check the time and date of when a blog was posted, so if you have outdated numbers or information, a consumer could be digesting potentially harmful information. You want to give your readers accurate information that answers their search query. If you continue to update the blog and fill the need of a searcher’s query, your blog will continue to improve traffic to your website.
How Often Should You Update Blog Posts?
For companies that are adding new content to their site quite frequently, you should update old blogs more frequently. It is best to review blog posts annually if you have the bandwidth. If you have content writing them, or you have trusted your marketing to the team at PDM, updating blogs twice a year can be even more effective.
SEO should be a top priority if you want to improve your business and updating blogs is a big part of a quality SEO strategy. When you decide to work on updating blogs, start with your top-performing blogs and then work on the lowest-performing ones next.
